Feature Friday: Sasha Dawn

Sasha Dawn teaches writing at community colleges and holds writing workshops for local elementary and middle schools. She collects tap shoes, fabric swatches, and stories of survival. She resides in her native northern Illinois, where she spends her days with her daughters, her puppies, and her fiance.

Interview:
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Sasha: 
Write every day, even after the pains of rejection stab you. We live in a pessimistic society, where people unfortunately take pleasure in ripping others to shreds. It's easy to believe in negative comments, and as a result, to stop believing in ourselves and our abilities. But if we continue to write, despite the forces attempting to silence us, eventually we will be heard.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Sasha: 
I have always loved Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Lee tells a tale wrought with truth and very adult subject matter…from the point of view of a child. I love that Scout Finch is unconventional, and I absolutely adore that her father encourages her to be true to herself, despite the conventions of the society in which she lives. Lee melds the magical world of childhood, where an imagined man breathes life into "babies, just waiting to wake up", with the brutal truths of racism and ignorance. Brilliant. Just brilliant.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Oblivion?

Sasha: 
Most of my plot lines come to me in dreams, and the buds of this one came to me decades ago. I have long been fascinated with the premise, and I put this character (and her dilemma) in many genres until I found one that worked.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Oblivion?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Sasha: 
Once I decided Callie's story should be put on a young adult canvas, the biggest obstacles involved managing difficult subject matter aimed at readers as young as fourteen. I fixed this by appealing to the audience's sense of logic and emotion. Ergo, not everything that happens in the plot line is explicitly detailed on-page, but the characters' emotional reactions to memories and possible recollections drive home ghastly occurrences.

Another snag involved writing antiheroes, all the while providing reasons for the audience to accept their flaws. In the end, I opted to present characters as they were, regardless of their unlikeable issues, period. I decided it was all right for readers to disagree with the characters, to detest some of their actions or motives, or even hold a grudge against them for a few pages. We spend the length of the story in Callie's mind. As she's flawed, her perception of others might be flawed, too. She maybe isn't focused on things a reader might find essential, and maybe she doesn't see her fellow characters as plainly as the readers might hope. Readers have to let go of their own control in order to ride out the tale. It's a psychological book for that reason. Furthermore, just as disagreeable people cross our paths in everyday life, I feel they ought to cross our paths in literature, as well. While these people are often touted as antagonists in storytelling, I prefer to prove there are varying levels of protagonist and antagonist. No one is all good, or all bad; no character ought to be all protagonist or all antagonist, either.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Oblivion is your favorite and why?

Sasha: 
This is a very difficult question because I love them all. However, I'll discuss my fascination with Elijah for the sake of providing an answer: Within the first few scenes in which Elijah appears, his actions prove he's alluring, despised, trustworthy, and unreliable all at once. Elijah has a complex past, and he's a complex character. I wanted to write him true to life: flawed, but well-intentioned and seeded in ideals. My hope was to prove there's good in every character, even if he makes bad decisions. All of the characters in OBLIVION are flawed, and while that has some bloggers in a snit (especially those who have yet to finish the book and review mid-page), I endeavor to write well-rounded characters--characters readers may not fully understand, but hopefully will respect, by the last page. Why? Because that's representative of the people we meet every day.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Sasha: 
I have been writing since my seventh birthday, if not before: short stories, nonfiction, poetry, flash fiction, novels. I continued to learn, and I continued to write. Eventually, an editor purchased my Master's thesis, a romance novel written under another pen name. Six others followed. But while I was finally experiencing some success, and while my writing was finally fitting into a genre niche, I wasn't writing the words of my heart. I took some time off to center myself, and the result? OBLIVION.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Sasha: 
I have already written nearly three YA novels, all of which are unrelated to OBLIVION. Let's keep our fingers crossed in hopes that Egmont will wish to work with me again. They've been an absolute dream!

A.L.:
How did you get into the mindset for writing someone with graphomania?

Sasha: 
There is simply no substitute for research. Graphomania is pop-culturally identified with those who constantly blog, post, pin, etc. However, its seeds are deep and planted in dark soil. Spontaneous writing is historically viewed as a possible sign of demonic possession, mental disruption, and an extra-sensory gift. I read case study after case study of spontaneous writing (and drawing!) and found that a lack of control held firm in each case. Each of these case studies helped put me in the mind of someone coming to grips with impulses and urges.

A.L.:
What's your favorite style of art and your favorite time period in history?  Why?

Sasha: 
My favorite style of art is the clay relief. I studied clay sculpture as early as my high school years, and I love the versatility of the relief, which we often see in architecture.

My favorite time period in history is American Colonialism to 1787, because of the vast approach to independent and critical thought involved in establishing a new form of government. One of my favorite pieces of persuasive writing of all time was published in this era--The Declaration of Independence.

A.L.:
What's the coolest restoration project you've ever worked on?

Sasha:
I have worked on many restorations and renovations over the years. The most interesting entailed the replication of a 1906 Victorian house. I moved interior walls, which had been erected during a 1960s renovation, and redesigned everything from floor inlays to custom-milled moldings. It was an invigorating experience to make a difference for a building throughout all stages--from inception to demolition to completion.

The Giveaway:
Sasha is giving a hardcover copy of OBLIVION away to one lucky winner! (Continental US only)

Oblivion:  Lisa McMann's Dead to You meets Kate Ellison's The Butterfly Clues in a psychological thriller full of romance, intrigue, and mystery.

One year ago, Callie was found in an abandoned apartment, scrawling words on the wall: "I KILLED HIM. His blood is on my hands. His heart is in my soul. I KILLED HIM." But she remembers nothing of that night or of the previous thirty-six hours. All she knows is that her father, the reverend at the Church of the Holy Promise, is missing, as is Hannah, a young girl from the parish. Their disappearances have to be connected and Callie knows that her father was not a righteous man.

Since that fateful night, she's been plagued by graphomania -- an unending and debilitating compulsion to write. The words that flow from Callie's mind and through her pen don't seem to make sense -- until now.

As the anniversary of Hannah's vanishing approaches, more words and memories bubble to the surface and a new guy in school might be the key to Callie putting together the puzzle. But digging up the secrets she's buried for so long might be her biggest mistake.

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How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter).  Continental US.  I will contact the winner via email.

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Monday Muse: Big Wreck -- Oaf

This reminds me of the 90s.

Feature Friday: Jennifer Brown

Jennifer Brown is the author of acclaimed young adult novels, Hate List, Bitter End, Perfect Escape, Thousand Words, and Torn Away. Her debut novel, Hate List, received three starred reviews and was selected as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a VOYA" Perfect Ten," and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Bitter End received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and VOYA and is listed on the YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults list.

Interview:

A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Jennifer:
Even if writing is fun, and your favorite hobby, you have to treat it like a job if you mean to turn it into a career. That means no excuses—we all have our obstacles—and it also means belief in yourself and your ability. I have seen fear and frustration take down more budding writers than lack of skill. You cannot let rejection (or, worse, fear of it) stop you. You have to keep getting up and trying again, even if you’re hurt or tired or have lost your faith in the process. Sometimes, the published author is not necessarily the best at writing; she’s just the best at being persistent.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Jennifer:
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, because it so beautifully portrays the resilience of the human spirit. I ask for so much resilience out of my characters, and that’s because I feel so strongly about that message—that you can make it through anything, with a little faith and willingness to just keep moving forward.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Torn Away?

Jennifer:
I had a library visit in Joplin, Missouri several weeks after the town was devastated by a tornado in 2011. The loss was enormous in that small town, yet all the people I met were so strong. I was touched by their resilience.
I began to wonder about the people who’d lost everything in that tornado. I began to wonder what it meant to really lose “everything,” and was it possible to lose everything if you still had a glimmer of hope or a thread of strength somewhere inside you? I wondered if I could create a character, strip her of everything she held dear, and still find a way to build her back again. That’s where Jersey’s story was born.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Torn Away?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Jennifer:
I always struggle somewhat with the middles of my books. At some point, between 20,000 words and 50,000, I start to worry that I won’t have enough to say to complete an entire novel. I have grown to recognize it as one of my trigger fears, and just do my best to ignore it and keep going. The only way out of the middle is through.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Torn Away is your favorite and why?

Jennifer:
I love Jersey. She is one tough cookie. She guards herself, but somehow manages to keep her heart open just the tiniest bit – just enough to let someone walk through.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Jennifer:
I started writing with hopes of publication in 2000, starting small with short stories, essays, and poems. I had the occasional success—honorable mentions here and there, unpaid publications in small magazines or on websites—but the women’s fiction I was writing was not meeting with any enthusiasm. In 2005, I got my first real break. I won the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award for one of my essays. In 2006, I won it again, and managed to get a weekly spot writing humor for The Kansas City Star. In late 2006, I finally landed an agent (through the slush pile), but my women’s fiction (I’d written four novels by then) was still not selling. I ended up switching gears completely, and writing Hate List, my first young adult novel, a definite departure from the romantic comedies I’d been trying to write. It took eight years, five novels, and countless hours of whining to finally get my first sale.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Jennifer:
I also write women’s fiction, under the name Jennifer Scott, and right now I’m finishing up my third women’s fiction novel. And then I’ll start a whole new YA project, one that’s a bit of a departure from my previous YA. In August, my first middle grade novel, Life on Mars, will come out. I have a lot going on!

A.L.:
Do you sometimes miss being a humor columnist?  You seem to write such serious books, do you try to weave humor into your work?

Jennifer:
No, never. While humor writing comes easy to me, it never felt comfortable. I was glad to let it go, and don’t have any plans to return to it. However, I have learned that when it comes to writing, you should never say never!

A.L.:

If someone were to come visit you in Kansas City, where would you take them? 

 

Jennifer:Smokin’ Guns BBQ and a Chiefs game.

A.L.:
Is there one particular character that you've written that you resonate more with than any other?

Jennifer:
I spend so much time with character development, both before and during writing, they turn into “real people” to me. Because of that, I love them all and miss them when they’re gone. I can see their fears and insecurities and hear their humor and feel their love, so it’s hard to pick one as being The One. That said, I did really enjoy Grayson in Perfect Escape. He was smart and strong and challenging, but he also had a huge, protective heart.

The Giveaway:
Jennifer is giving away a hardcover of TORN AWAY.  (US only)

Torn Away:  Born and raised in the Midwest, Jersey Cameron knows all about tornadoes. Or so she thinks. When her town is devastated by a twister, Jersey survives -- but loses her mother, her young sister, and her home. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she's sent to live with her only surviving relatives: first her biological father, then her estranged grandparents.

In an unfamiliar place, Jersey faces a reality she's never considered before -- one in which her mother wasn't perfect, and neither were her grandparents, but they all loved her just the same. Together, they create a new definition of family. And that's something no tornado can touch.

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How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter).  US.  I will contact the winner via email.

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Monday Muse: Kongos -- Come With Me Now

I love combinations of awesome.

Feature Friday: Anna Schumacher

Anna Schumacher received an MFA in fiction writing from the New School. An award-winning advertising copywriter, she currently oversees custom creative programs for Hearst Magazines' twenty-four digital titles. She is recently married and lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Tim, and their two cats, Gus and Alexis. END TIMES is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter @SchumacherYA.




Interview:

A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Anna:
Write the books you want to read. It’s so easy to get caught up in wanting to follow trends or write a “best-seller” – I know because I’ve done it, and I have the rejection letters and heartbreak to prove it. But ultimately agents, editors and, most important, readers can sniff out passion and authenticity. So write what turns you on the most, and trust that it will find a home in the world.

That, and don’t talk smack on the Internet. It always comes back to bite you.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Anna:
My favorite book changes weekly, depending on what I’ve been reading. Right now it’s Pointe, by Brandy Colbert, because I just finished it yesterday. Last week it was Nova Ren Suma’s 17 & Gone, and the week before it was an adult novel called Want Not by Jonathan Miles.

Generally, I like fiction with dark themes and beautiful writing. I can’t read a book with shoddy language, even if the plot is fascinating.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for End Times?

Anna:
End Times was inspired by an article in The New York Times about oil boomtowns in North Dakota. I’d wanted to do a rapture story for a long time, and this seemed like such a perfect and unexpected setting.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing End Times?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Anna:
I had a lot of trouble getting my mind around Daphne’s character. Everyone else was so clear in my head and so easy to write, but Daphne was a mystery, even to me. Over the course of several drafts (and many calls with my wonderfully patient editor, Jessica Almon), Daphne went from a kind of aloof, too-cool-for-school Detroit kid who partied in abandoned warehouses (which, don’t get me wrong, is awesome – but not for this protagonist in this story) to the person she is now: a quiet loner who has trouble letting anyone get close.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in End Times is your favorite and why?

Anna:
I know I’m not supposed to play favorites, but honestly? Luna. I’ve always been fascinated by villains, and Luna walks a fine line between evil and crazy that I find incredibly compelling.

I made Luna a hooper because hoop-dance is my hobby and, frankly, I’m pretty bad at it. As a naturally clumsy person, I spend more time dropping the hoop or nailing myself in the nose than doing cool tricks. In this respect, Luna is everything I want to be: talented, powerful, sexy, and self-assured.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Anna:
I wrote my first short story when I was five. It was inspired by Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus painting and involved crabs, pearls, mermaids, and princesses. It used the word “beautiful” eleven times and did not have a happy ending.

From there, I basically never stopped. After college I went for an MFA in fiction writing and had some early success ghostwriting, but was never able to sell my original work. I spent a lot of time feeling discouraged, collecting rejection letters, and starting books that I never finished. (I currently have about a half-dozen partly completed books and series gathering dust on my hard drive.)

I supported myself financially and emotionally with ad copywriting work: financially because it pays actual money, and emotionally because even as I was wracking up rejections for my fiction, I was always in demand as a copywriter. Today I still work fulltime in advertising, but I’m devoting more time and energy to my fiction, which is incredibly rewarding. Maybe someday I can be one of those writers who gets to live in imaginary worlds all day, every day. Until then, I’ve got bills to pay.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Anna:
Sequel! END TIMES BOOK 2: THE CHILDREN OF THE EARTH picks up where the first book left off, but unlike Book 1, where I spend a lot of time building the world and setting up the stakes, Book 2 is basically non-stop action from start to finish, with lots of surprising plot twists and several cool new characters. Something wild happens in every chapter, and now that I’m fully in all the characters’ heads the book is just flowing out of me. It’s incredibly exciting and I can’t wait for people to read it!

A.L.:
What made you want to write an "end times" novel?  Why set it in Wyoming?  And why make Daphne work at an oil rig?

Anna:
I’ve always wanted to write a rapture novel. I don’t know why. I was raised in a secular Jewish household, but religion and, in particular, religious zealotry have always been fascinating to me.

I chose Wyoming for its beautiful, jagged mountain landscape and Carbon County in particular because it’s one of the most economically depressed areas in the United States: a place that would change drastically if they found oil in the ground.

While Carbon County is a real county, the small town of Carbon County in my books is fictional. If you go to the actual Carbon County and ask for directions to Carbon County, they’ll just look at you funny.

Daphne didn’t work at the rig in the first couple drafts of END TIMES, but as I got to know her I realized that it was just something she would want to do. She’s a damaged character who gains genuine satisfaction from hard work and doesn’t like to sit still, so it didn’t make sense for her to just hang around the Peytons’ trailer while an oil rig went up in the backyard. It was almost like she was begging me from the pages to let her work, so I did.

A.L.:
If the end times were really coming, what would be the one thing you had to do before it all ended?

Anna:
Say: “I told you so?” Just kidding! I don’t think I’d do anything too crazy: probably just hug my parents, kiss my husband, snuggle my kitties, and then sit back and watch it all go up in flames.

A.L.:
Is there a reason why you chose the name Daphne?

Anna:
That’s a good question…I wish I had a good answer! Honestly, it was the first thing that came to me. I wanted her to have a name with a girly sound since she’s such a tomboy, but I didn’t want it to be so girly that it didn’t fit. Daphne seemed both soft and tough at the same time.

The Giveaway:
Anna is giving away a hardcover of END TIMES (US only).

End Times:  Carbon County, Wyoming is like a current running through Daphne’s heart.

When life gets too tough to bear in Detroit, Daphne flees to her Uncle Floyd’s home, where she believes she’ll find solace in the silent hills of her childhood summers. But Daphne’s Greyhound bus pulls over in downtown Carbon County and it’s not silence that welcomes her. It’s the sound of trumpets.

Daphne’s desire to start again in simple country comfort is instantly dashed as the townsfolk declare that the End Times are here. And incredible occurrences soon support their belief. Daphne does all she can to keep her head down and ignore the signs. She works a job at the local oil rig, helps around the house, hangs out with her pregnant cousin Janie and gets to know Owen, a mysterious motocross racer and fellow roustabout at the rig. But soon a startling discovery shatters her resolve and calls into question all her doubts and fears.
            
Daphne landed in Carbon County for a reason. She only has to read the signs—and believe.

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How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter).  US.  I will contact the winner via email.

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Monday Muse: Marc Broussard -- Home

This. Holy crap, yes.

Feature Friday: Alexandra Duncan

Alexandra Duncan is a writer and librarian. Her first novel, Salvage, was published by Greenwillow Books in April 2014. Her short fiction has been featured in several Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy anthologies and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. She loves anything that gets her hands dirty – pie-baking, leatherworking, gardening, drawing, and rolling sushi. She lives with her husband and two monstrous, furry cats in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Interview: 

A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Alexandra:
Writing seems like a solitary occupation, but you don’t have to go it alone. Join a writing circle or team up with a friend who is as serious about writing as you are so that you can give each other feedback and encouragement. Everyone who has been published experienced rejection at some point in their career. Help each other through the hard times and celebrate with each other when you succeed.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Alexandra: 
Only one? Oh no! I don’t know if I have a single favorite book, but my favorite author is Ursula LeGuin. Whenever I read her books, I become completely immersed in the different worlds she has created. They’re full of completely believable societies with their own myths and prejudices. Reading her is like taking a master class in worldbuilding.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Salvage?

Alexandra: 
Salvage grew out of a short story I wrote called “Bad Matter,” which was published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 2009. It featured the merchant crewe society Ava belongs to. The idea for that society came from my experience growing up in a small, rural church where women and girls had a lot of responsibilities, but there were also very strict expectations about their behavior. I wanted to use this science fictional setting to explore what it’s like to buy into a worldview where women are nominally treasured, but also restricted.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Salvage?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Alexandra: 
Probably the place where I had the most trouble was after Ava lands in Mumbai. I wrote and rewrote that half of the book over and over again. There was an early version where Ava was kidnapped at one point and a scene involving a cricket game. Some of those snags I recognized and fixed right away, but as for the others, I have my editor and my first reader friends to thank for steering me in the right direction. They didn’t explicitly tell me what to do, but they did tell me when the things I had written weren’t working.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Salvage is your favorite and why?

Alexandra: 
In some ways, you have to like your main character the most, because you’re going to be spending so much time inside her head. That said, the character that was the most fun to write was Miyole. She may be incredibly smart, but she’s still a kid and likely to do kid things like get excited over showing off her mom’s ship or start making up songs for herself. I have four younger siblings, so some of the things Miyole does are definitely inspired by the way they acted when they were little.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Alexandra: 
I started out writing short stories after college. After several of them had been published, that attracted the attention of an agent who suggested I write a novel. I had begun several novels in the past and participated in NaNoWriMo, but I had never finished any of them. Hearing that other people were interested in seeing a novel from me gave me the confidence to follow through and finish the novel that would eventually be Salvage. I ended up signing with Kate Schafer Testerman, who is a wonderful agent, and she sold Salvage to Greenwillow Books. Part of me still can’t believe all of that really happened.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Alexandra: 
I’m working on a companion novel to Salvage. It follows a teenage Miyole on her adventures in deep space.

A.L.:
How did you go about writing a novel with a female protagonist surrounded by mostly men?  Was there something in particular you sought to cover in such a set-up?

Alexandra: 
Men have the power in Ava’s world, but I think it’s important to point out that the women buy into the way their society is run, as well. You see that same dynamic in a lot of religious societies in our world and with issues like female genital mutilation. Women are not simply afraid to speak up – or not always. Sometimes they help perpetrate the same harm on girls that was perpetrated against them when they were younger. They accept that this is simply how the world works because they have never seen an alternative.

A.L.:
You're going out to sushi, what are you going to order?

Alexandra: 
I love some plain tuna or salmon maki with ginger, but my absolute favorite thing is a New York New York Roll. My favorite local sushi restaurant makes it with tuna, salmon, tobiko, a little bit of crunchy, and a sweet sauce. Basically, I am going to order all of the sushi and try to convince my friends to help me eat it.

A.L.:
What kind of leather-working do you do?  Can we see pictures?

Alexandra: 
I’m ashamed to say, I actually haven’t done a lot of leather working lately. I tend to learn things so that I can show the teens at my library how to do them, and then something else catches my attention and I learn how to do that thing, too. My most recent projects have been teaching myself how to make boba tea, folding origami cranes, and learning to shoot a handgun. (That last one is something I will not be teaching to anyone at the library.) Here is a picture of my office, with all the origami cranes I’ve made strung up above my window, though.

The Giveaway:
Alexandra will be giving away a signed copy of SALVAGE and a magnet. (US/CANADA)

Salvage:  Ava, a teenage girl living aboard the male-dominated deep space merchant ship Parastrata, faces betrayal, banishment, and death. Taking her fate into her own hands, she flees to the Gyre, a floating continent of garbage and scrap in the Pacific Ocean, in this thrilling, surprising, and thought-provoking debut novel that will appeal to fans of Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, and The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Read Goodreads reviews.
Buy on Amazon.
Buy on Barnes and Noble.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter).  US/CANADA.  I will contact the winner via email.

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Monday Muse: Woodkid -- Run Boy Run

From one of my coworkers. I had no idea this guy existed, but I love his videos.

Feature Friday: Rebecca Hahn

Rebecca Hahn grew up in Iowa, went to college in Minnesota, and soon after moved to New York City. She worked for two years there as an editorial assistant at a children’s book publisher while writing her first novel, A Creature of Moonlight, on the side. But her Midwest blood was calling her back; these days she keeps a cozy apartment in Minneapolis, where she converses with the winter cold, the wide sky, and many whispering trees.

Interview:

A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Rebecca:
You’re going to hear a lot of advice about writing. Feel free to experiment with any or all of this advice; experimenting is how you learn and grow as a writer. But—and this is the important bit—there are no rules that you can’t break. Nobody can write what you write. Nobody sees the world in the exact way that you do. Not everybody is going to like what you write, even if someday you sell as many copies of your books as J. K. Rowling or Stephen King. The point isn’t making people like your writing. The point is the writing. Write and write and write, because it’s what you do, because it’s magic.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Rebecca:
Oh goodness. I used to think this was an easy sort of question, and now it’s like picking a favorite moment in time or (if I had children) a favorite child. A book that recently blew me away with its genuineness, its joy, and its sparkling language was A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson. For a long time the answer to this question was The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (if you haven’t read Robin McKinley, go find her books!). Again, I love the language in that book. And the main character, Harry, and her refusal to fit into societal molds. And the subtle mysticism of the kelar (the magic in the book).

A more recent book that is now one of my all-time favorites is Laini Taylor’s Lips Touch: Three Times, which is beautifully illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo. It’s completely original, gorgeously written, altogether stunning. I felt as though I was eating the richest, most exquisite dark chocolate as I read it.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for A Creature of Moonlight?

Rebecca:
I had just given up on another project that wasn’t coming together. I was frustrated; I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to write something that worked. So I thought, “Fine. I’ll just write whatever I want. If it’s not going to work anyway, it doesn’t matter what I try.” I was staring into space, waiting for some sort of idea to come to me, and I saw the sunlight in my apartment shining through a half-filled water glass with flowers around the top. Something about that image brought a story into my head about a woman picking flowers, and a man who rides up next to her (except it wasn’t a man, it was a sorcerer), and a melancholy ending. After I’d written that story down, I realized that someone had been telling it—someone not me. It was Marni, of course, bitter, angry at the world. That was the beginning.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing A Creature of Moonlight?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Rebecca:
I try to think of “snags”—places where the story isn’t quite working yet, times of waiting for a new solution to present itself, uncertainty about whether anything I’ve written is any good at all—as opportunities rather than problems. I don’t always succeed in thinking this way! But I absolutely believe that there is no such thing as “perfect” writing, any more than there is a “perfect” person. We’re constantly changing and thinking new things, and that’s how I try to grow a story too—by building ideas and playing with character, getting stuck and sitting very still, hoping that the back of my mind will come up with something new to do—it almost always does, when I am willing to listen to crazy ideas. The crazy ideas sometimes turn out to be the most creative, and the detours—the parts of the story that go in some “wrong” direction before they start falling into place—often inform and add depth to the final book, even if they’ve been entirely written out.

In a very general way, when I didn’t know what to do next with A Creature of Moonlight, I either sent it to a friend to get a new perspective or stepped away from it and let my questions simmer and age.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in A Creature of Moonlight is your favorite and why?

Rebecca:
Hmmm. This is difficult. Of course I am very attached to Marni, but because it’s maybe a more interesting answer, I am going to talk a bit about her aunt, the queen. I love the queen. From the moment she first looked up from her sewing and smiled her shatteringly pretty smile, she was consistently surprising me. I had no sense of her character before she showed up. And then there she was. I adore her.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Rebecca:
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing in one way or another (journals, poetry, etc.), but I started focusing more seriously on trying to write novels after graduating from college. A Creature of Moonlight was far from my first attempt at novel-writing. Every time I write a new story, I think it is going to be the BEST THING EVER. That’s part of writing, and a really great part—being excited about your story, falling in love with it. And I still think fondly of all my stories. They might not be readable, but they’re all trying to say something about my life, and they were all a part of me growing as a writer.

My writing was definitely influenced by my time as an editorial assistant at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. Just being surrounded by stories and by people who were constantly thinking about stories was stimulating and broadened my understanding of what a published book looks like. Also reading tons of submissions and thinking about why they do or don’t work, why one makes me catch my breath and another leaves me feeling flat—it helped me realize what I value in a book and what sort of conventions don’t work as well for me.

As for the business part of my journey to being an “author”—I was very lucky in finding a home for A Creature of Moonlight in a fairly quick and painless way. Having worked in the industry definitely helped with networking, and it was just pure serendipity that my editor, Reka Simonsen, connected with the story.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Rebecca:
No sequels at the moment! I’m tinkering with a few new stories—one narrated by the youngest of the Greek fates, one inspired by ancient Persia—both young adult, both fantasy.

A.L.:
Why did you choose to write a human/dragon halfling?

Rebecca:
Good question! I don’t know if there was ever a specific conscious choice. By the time I realized Marni’s parentage, it made sense with the rest of the book—it gives her multiple conflicting pulls on her identity; it ties in with the theme of transformation; it provides her with interesting powers and responsibilities and choices. A simpler, maybe truer answer might be that I just love dragons. I would love to be a dragon, at least for a day. They’re so . . . fierce. And beautiful and graceful and glorious. They don’t care about danger—they fly straight into it, screaming.

A.L.:
Was it cooler living in NYC or do you prefer Minneapolis?

Rebecca:
Ha, what a complicated answer I could give to this! I love aspects of both cities. It took me a long time to get used to living in NYC (I grew up in rural Iowa), but by the time I left I loved its vibrancy. I especially love the city on summer nights, when the air has cooled and everyone’s out going places. It seems very young then, filled with—well, with opportunities. New York is a great place to connect with your passions and to find people who share them—if you can afford it, of course. And I never got over the joy of being at the center of children’s book publishing. Books are magic. They are absolutely magic, and there’s a definite magical hotspot in NYC.

On the other hand, I also never stopped missing the open sky and trees and grass of the Midwest. Minneapolis is filled with beautiful parks, and I have a great view of trees and sky right outside my own apartment windows! There’s more of a focus here on spending time outdoors, and a bit less of the drive to succeed which makes New York both exhilarating and exhausting. Ultimately, what I love most about Minneapolis are the quiet moments: sitting by a lake, walking to a friend’s house, watching the snow fall. Quiet moments are good for thinking, and thinking is good for writing.

So I love both cities in different ways, but for the moment I am very happy in Minneapolis.

A.L.:
If you could pick one literary female character to be best friends with your main character, Marni, who would you pick and why?

Rebecca:
I am going to pick Lyra Belacqua from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy (which begins with The Golden Compass). It’s possible that Marni and Lyra would butt heads a bit, but I’m choosing to think that ultimately they’d be fiercely loyal to each another and take on the world(s) together. They’re both stubborn and passionate, and they both have small patience for artifice. And they’ve grown up in completely different lands, so hopefully they’d find each another fascinating.

This is a heady question, by the way. Just imagining my Marni meeting Philip Pullman’s Lyra is making me a bit breathless.

The Giveaway:
A signed copy of A CREATURE OF MOONLIGHT. (US)

A Creature Of Moonlight:  A stunning debut novel about a girl who is half dragon, half human, and wholly herself.

As the only heir to the throne, Marni should have been surrounded by wealth and privilege, not living in exile-but now the time has come when she must choose between claiming her birthright as princess of a realm whose king wants her dead, and life with the father she has never known: a wild dragon who is sending his magical woods to capture her.

Fans of Bitterblue and Seraphina will be captured by A Creature of Moonlight, with its richly layered storytelling and the powerful choices its strong heroine must make.

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